norman52

When I looked at them they had lots of electrical issues. Windows that lowered all by themselves!
Go check the forums and do a google search. Scared me off. That and the interior was boring and I fit the Lexus much better.

DustinV

You have got to be kidding me. The SC430 interior is one of the most boring and overrated Lexus interiors I've ever seen. My uncle has one and I was never impressed with the interior design at all. Material wise it's fine but heavily overrated. I find the Jaguar XK8 and Mercedes SL to have much better interiors from a design and even material point of view.

Yes

never been in an xk8, but the sl interior feels cheap to me. nowhere near as plush or comfortable as the sc

da-bizket

I have had a MB and it was hard to enjoy the superior design being in the shop so often.

The style is a matter of preference. The SC can be fixed up...

da-bizket

?

Pearlpower

iTrader: (2)

There are many threads on the SC vs SL question.

Opinions from actual owners such as roofless IMO should be considered above others.

The opinions of those that have owned both come down to:

The SL is larger and possibly slightly quicker; keep in mind the SC has many mods available which are very affordable

The SC interior is above the SL in fit, feel, over luxury.

The SL has known electrical issues along with other items. A search on the Benz board is the best method to ascertain the reliability

The SC front seats can accommodate taller folks. Roofless, correct me if I am wrong but I believe that the SL seats are wider. ??

There are other items such as nav, a/c, stereo,etc. but the above seem to be the common items.
Styling is subjective.

norman52

I'm 6'6" 275lbs and I fit in the SC with room to spare. I couldn't close the roof on the SL I test drove and my head was hitting the headliner in the CLK.
The Jaguar XJ8? For get about it. I could barely look out the windshield while rolling my eyes upward. I was totally blown away how much room I have in the SC430 and how comfortable I am. I have more legroom now than I did in my Escalade.

Roofless

(LOL!! I was wondering when Lee was going to read DustinV's kind words-of-wisdom. Anyone read DustinV's other posts; they're hilarious. He actually posted pics of his Mercedes CDi "company car" AND included photo tips from someone else's web site. Too much! He's our own Lazlo Toth.)

Umm, it's a Mercedes CL, not an SL. My seats in the CL were last generation, so probably not relevant here and now, except to say that CL seats are similar to the SL's except a tad bigger with a tad more padding - true in both generations.

The SL's seats may be (or not) wider than the SC's, but they sure feel smaller due to the sturdy bolsters. They're good seats, but don't meet everyone's comfort level. Take an SL to Vegas and back, and you'll see what I mean.

I found norman52's comment about fitting into an SL and SC most interesting. Hadn't heard that. Welcome aboard norman52! Your comments (particularily about Porsche 911 parts' costs) are excellent. Thanks!

Dan_K

iTrader: (1)

Also, by chance, did any catch his comments after da-bizket's pictures? I saw it earlier today and came back to comment on it but the post is no longer there? Whether it was done by him or the moderators, I'm glad it was removed.

Roofless

I sure saw it. He also went into the LS460 forum and ragged on Lexus. Tact is not one of DustinV's high points, apparently.

As a troll, though, I give him high marks on originality. The pictures of a "company car" with photo tips was ridiculously good.

Pearlpower

iTrader: (2)

I had some interaction with him on the matter and all is well. Back to topic.

I must say though that the SL above is pretty nice fixed up. Don't see any of those around even So Ca. Of course the SC up top looks hot to.

norman52

Now the SL pictured above looks like a SL55 AMG. So comparing apples to apples what would be the better deal since no one here drives at 10/10ths to go get grocery's. A new SL55 AMG @ $129.300 plus additional dealer markup.
or a new SC430 and a Base LS460 for the same price. We are talking value here. What do you get for the money? I am not saying the Mercedes isn't a great car. just that is it twice as good for twice the cost? And lets go back the other way. A new Chrysler Hardtop Convertible at $40k. You get a whole bunch more style,performance and luxury features by stepping up to the Lexus for $28K more so you actually get something you can see and feel for the additional investment.

Addiction2

Actually they changed the test methodology, almost all cars went down across the board. That said I think the Mercededs would win, but I didnt buy the SC430 to own the fastest car on the block. Its a beautiful car with reasonable performance and I love it just the way it is, in fact this is the only car I've ever owned that I didn't do some speed work on.

rogers2

That's why you don't buy MB without a warranty, everybody knows that. At the very begin the car gave me some problems but the car is perfect now. Please believe your interior don't look better than mine. That's my opinion. Your sound system is better but the interior comes down to what a person prefers. Please explain boring?

norman52

I just like an interior that is more than black. The Mercedes is nice but it is black plastic and black leather. I enjoy the warmth of a wood contrast. Like sitting down to a nice wood desk in a den.
I enjoy a Jaguar interior but the wood is from a single slab so if you warp or sun fade one piece you have to replace them all to get a perfect match again. The Mercedes is very rich looking but it just lacks the warmth I enjoy. It just seems more business like than warm and inviting. Now that is just my opinion. Some people hate wood interiors, especially fake wood interiors.
I'm an English car nut so I have always enjoyed wood.